Classical Elements
by ThatFilmStudent
Summary: One boring Wednesday, Lily ponders the Classical Elements (Earth, Air, Fire and Water) and the Marauders. Lily wonders who, of the Marauders, would be which element. James/Lily, Remus/Sirius.


**DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of these HP characters or the Natural Elements.**

* * *

Lily yawned widely and allowed her eyes to once again scan the classroom lazily. It wasn't that Transfiguration was boring – far from it, in fact; Lily usually enjoyed Transfiguration. But it was a Wednesday, and it was **double** Transfiguration, and to top it off, it wasn't even practical work. It was all theory and copying notes. Plus, the previous night, it took her hours to fall asleep. In the end, she'd only had about three and a half hours sleep.

So, with the sleep deprivation and the two hours of constant Professor McGonagall droning, Lily couldn't find it in herself to pay attention or keep her concentration on McGonagall's words. As Lily's emerald green eyes roamed around the room, they eventually settled on her friends and boyfriend: the Marauders – James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew.

It had been three months. Three months since Lily had asked James Potter on a date and they had officially started courting; three months since she had been officially accepted by the Marauders and had been made an honorary Marauder.

While Lily had been hanging out with the boys since the end of fifth year, she had only recently been accepted into their inner circle. And, with this new development, she had come to know the boys a lot more personally. She knew many of their secrets; she had come to know the way they acted and thought.

Amongst many of the secrets, Lily had found out that Remus was a werewolf – though she had already known that – and that the other three were Animagi. That had shocked her, but it had also succeeded in making her admire James more. Before, she had known that James was loyal and protective, but she hadn't known just how much. His loyalty to Remus and his friends had made Lily fall just a little bit in love with him.

She had also found out that Peter was a virgin and that he thought he would be one forever. With this revelation, she had realised how insecure Peter really was and how much he wanted to be loved. So, recently, she had made it her duty to make Peter feel more loved. She had also been trying to find someone to date him but, as of yet, she had been unsuccessful. She still had hope, though. She knew someone out there would love Peter the way he deserved.

Lily had found out another thing; something that she had pondered for months and had only found out when she had walked in them: Sirius Black and Remus Lupin were dating. She had wondered about it before, having noticed the subtle differences – the secret lingering glances and small smiles, the subtle touches and intimate conversations – in their friendship compared to theirs with James and Peter, but before she hadn't been close enough to them for her to be **allowed** to know.

Since joining the group, she had been allowed to know the inner workings of them; the fact that every Monday and Wednesday for at least two hours, they spent time apart to avoid going stir crazy; that at least once a week, James and Peter left Remus and Sirius in the room alone; that the Marauders had created a map to know where everyone was at all times.

Lily was proud to be an honorary Marauder, despite her pretence at being disappointed in their pranks or indifferent to it all. And, although she hadn't told them, she loved her boys. She loved them all but she was in love with James Potter. Many things about him annoyed her, but at the same time, those were the things she adored about him.

Lily sighed and looked to her left where Marlene, her best friend, sat. Looking down at the watch on Marlene's wrist, she frowned. She still had 34 minutes of lesson left! Sighing again, she looked down at her book. Page 278: The Classical Elements (Earth, Air, Fire and Water); that's what their lesson was on. The classical elements and their properties and how they were used in Transfiguration and in turning other objects into the elements.

Lily looked up again, her eyes refocusing on the four boys across the classroom. Lily noticed that, much like herself, they had grown tired of all of the non-practical work. Lily watched as they wrote notes to one another. She knew that they were using those pens that made the message disappear approximately five minutes after having been written. They had bought them in Hogsmeade in fourth year and Lily had always thought that they were quite brilliant, though she hadn't told them that.

Lily subtly watched with hidden amusement as James wrote messages in between trying (and occasionally succeeding) to distract Sirius. His attempts worked half of the time but usually engaged an annoyed reaction from Sirius.

Sirius had, quite to Lily's surprise, become very involved in his schoolwork this year. Lily secretly thought it had something to do with Remus, though she hadn't voiced that opinion. She watched as Sirius tried his best to ignore his best mate and instead multitasked – attempting to write down notes on what Professor McGonagall was saying, reading and replying to James' messages, and trying to avoid James' distraction techniques.

Lily watched as Peter wrote down occasional notes from McGonagall in between writing back and snickering at whatever James or the others wrote. She watched as Remus doodled and read the messages, occasionally replying.

Glancing down at her book, a few of the words connected in her mind. Looking back at her friends, Lily wondered idly that, if the elements were to be personified, they would be much like her friends.

James Potter, Lily surmised, would be very much like the **Earth** element. He was calm, practical and hard-working; he was brave, smart, stable and patient. He was also, to a certain extent, quite wise. Lily knew for a fact that, if it wasn't Remus, then it was James that people went to for advice. James was, Lily supposed, a mothering figure, in a way.

However, she knew that if she ever told him that, James would look at her as if she were crazy. But, to her, it was **obvious** that he was a sort of mother figure to the Marauders. Well, she amended, maybe he was more like the father figure. Authoritative, reliable, and always there to protect his friends and the people he loves. But, no matter what, James Potter was a parental figure.

James had his faults, though. He was stubborn and hot-headed; he was near-sighted and sometimes (more so in the past) harsh. He could also be very protective – sometimes overly so. But, that protectiveness was what made him **him**. Yes, Lily mused, James Potter was very much **Earth** at its best (and worst).

Her eyes slipped to Sirius who was valiantly copying down notes. Sirius Black, Lily reckoned, was definitely the **Fire** element. He was an extrovert, to start – always wanting attention, to be seen and heard; to know that he was being acknowledged. He was enthusiastic, rebellious, and passionate; he was brave and valiant. He was also intuitive, relying on his inner gut-feeling, and this made him a good leader.

But, Sirius also had his downsides. While he was creative, he was also destructive. His emotions couldn't be hidden, but they were pure. He was possessive and over-protective. He was impulsive, which, Lily supposed could both be a good and a bad thing. The bad thing about it was that Sirius didn't seem to be aware of the emotional impact of his actions.

Sirius was **Fire** because he was temperamental and uncontrollable but he was also very beautiful and unhidden. He was real and he fed off of other people and attention. Lily realised that there was only one thing that could stop a raging fire: water. Air fueled fire, and Earth fed it, but water, water was one of the few things that could stop a blazing fire.

And so, Lily realised that Remus Lupin was the **Water** element. Her eyes slipped to Remus as he doodled, his left arm brushing against Sirius' right as the Animagus wrote. Remus was almost definitely **Water** , she thought. He was emotional, deep, and nurturing; he was sympathetic and empathetic, imaginative and intuitive.

Remus was infinite and calming and equally as beautiful as the other elements. He could create life and hope, and Lily had seen first-hand how he could stop Sirius from burning out. While Fire could show Remus how to live in the moment, despite his psychological baggage, Remus could make Sirius realise that he could be real. Remus could understand, instinctively, what mood people were in. But, he did have his faults, too, Lily knew.

Remus could be just as stubborn as the others, if not more so. He was also emotionally sensitive and he knew it. Lily knew it made him feel vulnerable and, thus it made him very self-protective. He was very wary and untrusting; it had taken Lily over four years to gain his trust.

He was extremely intelligent and, while that could be considered a good thing, it left Remus overthinking and too analytical. But, he was definitely **Water** – always there to calm the other elements; always there to unite them.

Lily allowed her eyes to wander over to the final Marauder: Peter Pettigrew. What she was left with was **Air** , and she supposed that Peter was **Air**. Peter was kind, communicative and social; Lily knew he had friends in every House. Peter, although he didn't like to be centre of attention, often thrived from social environments.

Peter could be very intellectual, depending on the subject. More street-smarts than academics, but that didn't mean he was dumb when it came to schoolwork; he was an average student, passing every class but achieving high grades in Herbology and Potions. Peter was also an observer; always there to study situations and offer a new perspective. Peter could be light and happy and cheeky but, Lily knew he had a dark side. She had seen it.

While James and Sirius had grown out of it, Peter was still fairly insensitive to other people's emotions. She had seen how vicious he could be to people he didn't like. It wasn't brash and out-there like Sirius and James' old shows of disdain had been. He was more subtle about it, using harsh words and even harsher looks. She had also seen how selfish and superficial he could be.

Peter could be as light as air, but she knew that if you angered him, he could become a whirlwind of anger. Though, unlike Sirius, Peter kept his anger inside to fester. He let the storm rage on inside. She had not seem him explode or breakdown like she had James and Sirius and Remus. She suspected he would soon, though.

Yes, Lily thought as she looked from the boys to her textbook, the Marauders could definitely personify the Classical Elements. James Potter was definitely **Earth** : a parental figure – protective in every way. He was hard-working, brave, and stable; he was also stubborn and hot-headed. Sirius Black was **Fire** : an extrovert – rebellious and passionate, brave and valiant. He was also destructive, enigmatic and led by his emotions; he was over-protective, intense and impulsive.

Remus Lupin was **Water** : an over-thinker – intelligent, emotional, empathetic and beautiful. He was nurturing and intuitive; he was also stubborn, vulnerable and self-protective. And Peter Pettigrew was **Air** ; an observer – social, kind and flexible. He was light and happy; he was also harsh, insensitive and selfish.

"Lily?"

Lily blinked as she was nudged gently in the arm and brought back to reality. She recognised that voice: James. Looking up, she found James staring at her with something akin to worry in his hazel eyes. He smiled comfortingly, which she returned.

"You okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah," she said quietly. She looked around and noticed that half of the class were gone, the other half still packing away. End of class, she realised. She looked forward again and realised that the four boys that she had spent the last 30 minutes of lesson thinking about were stood right in front of her.

"Lost in thought?" Remus asked knowingly.

Lily nodded. "Yeah," she muttered as she snapped her book shut and shoved it in her bag. She stood up and smiled at them reassuringly.

"Right," Sirius said suddenly, clapping his hands. "Dinner time. Let's go." With that, he turned around and began leading the way to the Great Hall for dinner. He dragged Remus and Peter along with him, leaving Lily and James to walk along together, a little behind.

"So, what were you thinking about?" James asked as he took Lily's bag for her. Lily smiled at the affectionate, chivalrous gesture and shrugged.

"Not much really. Just the lesson," she said vaguely.

"You were paying attention?" he asked, almost incredulously.

"Yes. I'm Head Girl. I'm meant to pay attention," she replied haughtily. James gave her a look – the one that said he knew she was lying but he found it attractive – and she giggled. "Okay, I wasn't listening all of the time. But I was thinking about the lesson."

James nodded. "What parts of that lesson were so interesting that you drifted off into space and didn't hear me calling you three times?"

"The Classical Elements and their symbolic properties. I found them very interesting," she said truthfully.

James nodded again and flung his arm around her shoulders. "You, Lily Evans, are one hell of an enigma," he said lovingly.

Lily linked her fingers with his as they walked along. "And you're Earthy," she smirked.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading!** **I hope you enjoyed it! =)**

 **Written: December, 2016**


End file.
